Why it works: Fish and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,948 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Broiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grease the bars of the broiler well with oil.
Place the fish inside the broiler, down to the fire first.
Run a knife along the backbone to remove it.
Loosen and remove the long bones one at a time with a small knife after removing the backbone.
Broil
Broil until browned and the flakes separate without burning.
Turn the skin side to the fire just long enough to brown.
Season with salt and pepper before or after cooking.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,948 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Provides the main protein, which firms and flakes when heated through.
- Oil
- Coats the broiler bars so the fish does not stick and tear.
The step that matters
Broil until browned and the flakes separate without burning. High direct heat browns the surface quickly, while the flesh cooks through. Fish flakes readily once its proteins set, so overcooking dries it out and scorches the skin before the centre is done.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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